Jamal Murray hand injury update: Nuggets guard dealing with gruesome floor burn vs. Heat in 2023 NBA Finals

Scott Rafferty

Jamal Murray hand injury update: Nuggets guard dealing with gruesome floor burn vs. Heat in 2023 NBA Finals image

Jamal Murray had a historic performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

While Nikola Jokic stole the show with the first-ever 30-20-10 game in the Finals, Murray finished with a triple-double himself, recording a game-best 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Those triple-doubles helped the Nuggets regain homecourt advantage in the series.

The Nuggets will now have an opportunity to return to Denver with a commanding 3-1 series lead, but it might require Murray to play through a rather gruesome hand injury in Game 4.

MORE: Best NBA Finals SuperDraft Prop Bets for Game 4 of Nuggets-Heat

What is Jamal Murray's injury?

Between Games 3 and 4, Murray was seen wearing tape around his left hand during Denver's practice.

When asked about it, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said Murray had a floor burn on his hand. Murray later took the tape off of his hand to show the media the extent of his injury.

It's unclear when Murray suffered the injury. He hurt his hand early in the third quarter when Heat big man Kevin Love tied him up following an offensive rebound, but he appeared to be favoring his right hand, not his left hand.

Jamal Murray injury update

The Nuggets have not yet released an injury report for Game 4, so Murray's official status is unknown.

It's worth noting that Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said that Murray is "fine" when he revealed on Thursday that the Nuggets guard was dealing with a floor burn. The expectation will likely be that he plays.

ESPN's Malika Andrews revealed that Murray did pain tolerance drills when he was younger to "prepare for moments like this."

Through 18 games, Murray is averaging 27.4 points, 6.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

Nuggets vs. Heat NBA Finals schedule

Here is the complete schedule for the 2023 NBA Finals:

Date Game Time (ET) TV channel
June 1 Game 1 Nuggets 104, Heat 93 ABC
June 4 Game 2 Heat 111, Nuggets 108 ABC
June 7 Game 3 Nuggets 109, Heat 94 ABC
June 9 Game 4 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 12 Game 5 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 15 Game 6* 8:30 p.m. ABC
June 18 Game 7* 8 p.m. ABC

*If necessary

Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.